DOWN at Birmingham’s Glee Club, promoter Markus Sargent has championed some sensational songbirds in his time, Imogen Heap, Regina Spektor and Carina Round among them.

That he was one of the first to shine the spotlight on Joan Wasser says much for his ear for genius. Joan’s sophomore set is sublime, whether it’s the moody piano lament of Honor Wishes, the angry political rant of Furious or the intimate soul-searching of To Be Lonely.

Finale To America, a duet with Rufus Wainwright deploring the state of the nation, may well be the best album track of the year.